Porter

  Lin Zhenhua finally paid the price for his arrogance and became a glorious porter. Liang Guangping promised that if there were any technical positions available in the future, he could still adjust Lin's job, but on the condition that Lin could prove himself qualified through self-study. Lin knew that this promise was just a gesture, and if nothing unexpected happened, he would probably be a porter for the rest of his life. There were precedents like this in the factory.

  "What? You're a porter?" At the entrance of the metalworking workshop, Lin Zhenhua met Yang Xin, who was wearing a blue work uniform. Lin Zhenhua had heard from his sister that Yang Xin had entered the factory as a temporary worker after graduating from junior high school and was now learning to be a milling worker in the metalworking workshop. Yang Xin was originally not very good at talking to him, but upon hearing that he had become a porter, she was still shocked and didn't care about the distinction between men and women anymore.

  "It's all revolutionary work." Lin Zhenhua said with a wry smile.

  "You know now?" Yang Xin said angrily, "The words my dad told you, you just took them as nothing. You made my dad furious, do you know that?"

  "This is it, I know I was wrong, I disappointed Dad's good intentions." Lin Zhenhua looked at the little loli's serious face and couldn't help but joke.

  "What's wrong, Dad?" Yang Xin was taken aback for a moment.

  "Your dad said it himself, I'm half a son to him, you see, isn't that just like our own dad?"

  "Go ahead and be poor-mouthed!" Yang Xin cursed.

  "Really, since Dad said that, I felt responsible. So when the factory director asked me which workshop to go to, I said go to the machining workshop, it's okay to be a porter too. And then I came."

  "Why go to the gold processing workshop?" Yang Xin didn't react.

  "My sister is in the metal workshop. As her brother, I have to take care of her, what if someone bullies her?" Lin Zhenhua said with a mouthful of nonsense.

  "Xiao Fang how..." Yang Xin said to this, suddenly realized that Lin Zhenhua's sister was not referring to Lin Fanghua, but to her Yang Xin. Her face suddenly turned red: "Dead Little Hua, you still have the heart to make jokes."

  "Sister, who should I report to?" Lin Zhenhua asked with a smile, admiring the girl's rosy cheeks.

  "You'd better not report for work yet, I'll go talk to my dad and let him think of a solution, change your job type." Yang Xinyan said sincerely, "Otherwise, you can go to the container workshop to learn electric welding with my dad."

  "It doesn't matter, I'll just start as a porter then." Lin Zhenhua replied.

  Yang Xin wanted to say something else, but at this time someone in the workshop shouted: "Yang Xin, why haven't you gone to get the materials yet?"

  Yang Xin stuck out her tongue and responded with a "Yes, master, I'll go right away." Then she turned to Lin Zhenhua and said, "I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to get the materials."

  "Where to take it? I'll help you." Lin Zhenhua said, this was a habit formed in school. There were few female students at Huaying University, but whenever the girls had something to do, the boys were always eager to help.

  Yang Xindao said: "Then let's go together, I'll go to the warehouse. If you become a porter, this kind of thing is originally what you do. You don't even count as helping."

  Two people came to the warehouse together, where they met Zhong Rulin, the team leader of the metalworking workshop. He was a rough and unrefined man who looked like he had strong limbs but a simple mind. Yang Xin deliberately didn't let Lin Zhenhua report for duty, but Lin Zhenhua still walked forward to introduce himself to Zhong Rulin, saying that he had been assigned by Director Liang to work as a porter.

  "Is this Mr. Liang not given gifts by you?" Zhong Rulin asked indignantly, although he was not familiar with Lin Zhenhua, but he knew his parents, so he also treated Lin Zhenhua as a younger generation. The worker's feelings were very simple and straightforward, he instinctively felt that Liang Guangping was bullying Lin Zhenhua, this child who had no father or mother.

  Lin Zhenhua said: "Master Zhong, don't say that, someone has to do every job, right?"

  "You're silly," said Zhong Rulin, "Can porters and skilled workers be the same?"

  "Then you should also be a porter?" Lin Zhenhua said.

  "I'm a roughneck, I used to study vocational skills but couldn't learn it, so I ended up being a porter. You're still young and have finished junior high school, why not try to learn some skills?" Zhong Rulin suggested sincerely, in those days, graduating from junior high school was barely considered a high level of education, and qualified to study vocational skills.

  "Master Zhong, what's wrong with being a porter?" Lin Zhenhua asked humbly.

  "Firstly, the wages are low. Skilled workers can be promoted to higher levels, but general workers will remain at the same level their whole lives. An eighth-level skilled worker can earn over 100 yuan, have you ever heard of an eighth-level porter?" asked Zhong Rulin.

  "This... really doesn't exist."

  "Moreover, porters work hard, exert great strength and sweat a lot. When you return home, your wife will even find you smelly. A young man like you, if he becomes a porter, can only marry a rural woman, which city girl with a household registration would be willing to marry you?"

  "This isn't necessarily true?" Lin Zhenhua muttered.

  Zhong Rulin saw that Lin Zhenhua didn't believe her, and felt a bit embarrassed. She turned her head to see Yang Xin eavesdropping on the side, so she pointed at Yang Xin and said: "Xiao Xin, are you willing to marry a porter?"

  "Master Zhong, what nonsense are you talking about!" Yang Xin's face turned red with shame, and she spat out a sound before running away.

  Lin Zhenhua smiled and looked at Yang Xin's slender back, saying to Zhong Rulin: "Master Zhong, it seems that I have no chance with Yang Xin either?"

  "It's definitely not going to happen now." Zhong Rulin said, "This girl is so pretty and lively, she wouldn't marry a porter even if you gave her one. We used to joke with Old Yang that he treated you two siblings like his own children, wondering if he was planning to make you his son-in-law, but now it's definitely not going to happen."

  "It seems I really don't understand things." Lin Zhenhua said with a sincere expression, "I originally thought that any profession would do, who knew there were so many doors to choose from."

  "The way is clear." Zhong Rulin was very satisfied to see Lin Zhenhua finally accept his point of view. As a porter, he rarely had any right to speak, and now Lin Zhenhua came and respected him so much that he felt very pleased: "Xiao Hua, I'll tell you, work for a few more days, wait until the wages are paid, save some money, buy something and go to Director Liang's house to visit him, beg him, maybe he can change your job."

  "Alright, I'll listen to you." Lin Zhenhua replied with a tone that didn't match his true feelings.

  Zhong Rulin saw Lin Zhenhua agree to everything so readily, and couldn't help but feel a few sparks of affection for him. He personally took Lin Zhenhua to collect his work uniform, cotton gloves, and sheepskin shoes, and even persuaded the warehouse manager to give Lin Zhenhua a full set of labor protection supplies, including soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, and so on. These labor protection supplies were issued once at the beginning of each quarter, and Lin Zhenhua had already missed the deadline for receiving the third-quarter supplies, according to regulations. However, there was always some flexibility in any regulation, and although porters didn't have much status elsewhere, their relationship with the warehouse manager was very good. As soon as Zhong Rulin spoke up, the manager brought out the supplies for Lin Zhenhua.

  "You don't need so much soap, why not exchange some for scented soap?" suggested Zheng Mingxia, the storekeeper, with good intentions.

  "Why? I don't use so much soap." Lin Zhenhua said.

  "Mind your own business?" Zheng Mingxia glared and said, "Your sister Xiaofang is a big girl now, doesn't she need to use a few more bars of soap? All these years Xiaofang has been using Wei Jie's labor insurance supplies. Now that you're back, don't you want to take good care of your little sister? Let me tell you, Xiao Hua, we are all old colleagues of your parents. If you dare not take good care of your little sister, none of us will let you off."

  "Thank you, Master Zheng. Don't worry, I will take good care of Xiaofang." Lin Zhenhua was truly moved. Zheng Mingxia claimed to be a colleague of his parents, but in fact, when his parents were alive, they were just ordinary workers and didn't have much interaction with each other. But now that his parents were gone, all the workers and masters in the factory naturally felt obligated to take care of the siblings, and they all appeared in this elder's posture.

  "Alright, Xiao Hua, come with me to the garage to deliver some materials," Zhong Rulin said to Lin Zhenhua, "I'll introduce you to all the masters."

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  Strive for recommendation votes without giving up. This week is the first time this book has been recommended, everyone has their own stage... let's just forget about making money, it's not easy for anyone to make a living.